


We Got Each Other (And That’s a Lot)

by Anna_Marie



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alien Culture, Alien Planet, Aliens, Angst, Captured, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Galra Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pain, Rescued, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-23
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:55:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23798833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anna_Marie/pseuds/Anna_Marie
Summary: After a simple mission goes wrong, Lance and Keith find themselves crashed on a foreign planet. The inhabitants of the planet rescue them and save them. While Lance and Keith are grateful for their kindness, these aliens seem to know nothing about humans or human culture. Keith and Lance have to get back to the team... but the aliens have other plans
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	1. Far From Home

Lance couldn’t open his eyes at first. The light was too bright and he felt as if he had been given something. It made his eyelids stick shut. Unfortunately consciousness returned before his other senses were fully operational, his eyes working first. He tried to pry his eyes open with pure will but to no adu. Lance gave up on that front, shifting his focus to feeling. Feeling where he was, if anything was hurt. He wasn’t sure how long it took but eventually feeling returned in his hands and feet, then worked its way up his body. But something was off. He could feel things, but it felt like he was experiencing his senses through a film overtop his skin. He felt fuzzy on the inside.  
Lance thought he heard voices when he wiggled his fingers. They were muffled, noises that were probably words but in a language Lance didn’t understand nor recognize. 

Finally, he was able to open his eyes.

There was a particle barrier surrounding him. He appeared to be laying on a medical table, one with a pillow for his head. There was a screen outside of the barrier to his left. When he looked down at his body, there were various tubes and machines hooked up to him. Soundless. Lance attempted sitting up against his better judgement, but found that his wrists were in cuffs attached to the bed. The room was a bland grey color, apart from whatever Lance was hooked up to and trapped on. He looked down at his body again, noticing that his paladin armor was off of him. He was almost naked, his saving grace being the underwear on his body. Lance decided to ignore the fact that it was not the ones he remembers wearing last. He had a blanket on top of him, which was lit up. Lance started to panic. He was trapped almost naked somewhere he couldn’t remember how he got there. He started squirming against the restraints; something didn’t feel right.

An alien Lance had never encountered before appeared above him. It spoke to him in its native language, therefore Lance ignored it. A few of the screens and machines reacted to what Lance was doing. The particle barrier was expanded so the alien could enter. Two, actually. They placed their appendages on Lance to secure him down on the table. They seemed to be communicating. Lance figures out fast that fighting was useless. It wouldn’t get him anywhere and probably result in punishment. He forced himself to calm down. The two aliens seemed relieved when he stopped fighting, one going to look at his shoulder. Watch as the other one wiped tears away from Lance’s eyes, ones he didn’t realize he was producing. The alien put it in a tube and left. Lance found it odd. The other was making noises at him but Lance couldn’t understand. His voice was too dry to speak.

“I don’t understand you,” Lance raspily managed to get out. The alien looked at him with confusion, then as if they realized something. A little box was pulled out of their garment, a few taps were made. Lance took this chance to really look at these aliens.

The two he had seen were humanoid. They were around Shiro’s height, Lance guessed. Their skin was purple and grey, appearing to be similar to human skin but more soft. They had a similar build to humans; head, torso, arms, legs. They had garments similar to the human hazard suits without the headpiece. They had three eyes in a triangle on their faces, two nostrils, and a mouth. Their hands could act as one unit, or split into “fingers”. Their expressions were similar to humans as well. Lance briefly thanked the powers that be; he couldn’t imagine trying to learn and process an alien species completely different to him in a situation like this.

“Can you understand me?” The alien said. Lance nodded. “Awesome! Sorry, I had my communicator set in a mode where I could understand you but you couldn’t understand me.”

“What am I doing here?” Lance asked, his voice trembling a little and still raspy. The alien looked confused.

“What do you mean? Do you not remember?”

It hit Lance as soon as the alien questioned him.

He and Keith were on a mission to scout out a few nearby planets for possible food. On their mission to the planet Jixal, they were attacked by a big beast. They had to evade the beast, unfortunately flying into a canyon. Their lions crashed into the sides, and then Lance blacked out. Keith…

“Yeah I remember now…” Lance’s throat was like sandpaper. 

“Why does your voice sound like that, human?” The alien close to him asked.

“Water?” Lance croaked. The alien above him nodded and asked someone to fetch him a glass.

“While we wait for that… Perhaps you would like to know what we know?”

Lance nodded. The alien introduced theirself as Kralvera, one of the top medics in the area. She specializes in other species however humans are one species they have never come across. The Jixalians only knew about humans from what they have read or heard. The base Lance was currently in was in the canyon that he and Keith crashed into. They sent a rescue team out to find information, and they came back with the two Paladins. The lions now have a particle barrier up that the Jixalians could not go through. Kralvera, or Vera as she said she preferred, told Lance that his companion was safe in the room next to his. They found something suspicious in him and were checking it out. Lance’s wounds were also not as extreme as Keith’s. She explained that Lance’s shoulder was dislocated and he had a few cracked ribs, as well as many bruises. Lance was otherwise fine. Keith, however, broke a leg, broke his wrist, dislocated a hip, and had a mild concussion. The aliens were able to heal Lance’s ribs right away. Keith’s concussion was healed, but he would probably have a headache when he woke up. His hips were put back into place. His wrist and leg, however, needed more time to heal. 

The other alien returned with a glass of water. The bed shifted so that Lance was sitting up, his arms still locked into place. Vera assisted Lance in drinking the water; the cool liquid rejuvenated his throat and Lance felt so much better having something in his stomach. He cleared his throat, finding that the pain and stiffness was gone.

“OK, so… why am I almost naked and why am I all locked up?” Lance asked “And when can I see my, er, friend.”

While the aliens had shown them kindness, he was not entirely sure they were safe.

“We had to heal you and assess damage. Normally our kind is, as you put it, naked. But you are foreign and we recognized that the garment was important being the only one under the over garments. You are locked up so we can study you. And because you humans are squirmy, according to the information we know. You can see your friend after two more healing sessions.”

Vera lowered Lance back down to being fully horizontal. She grabbed a bottle of some weird pink oil, caked it onto Lance. Lance started hyperventilating, unsure of what was happening. What the hell were they doing to him?

“Your readings convey an emotion of panic. What is wrong?” The other alien asked. Then, to Vera, said “Should we knock him out again?”

Lance felt the substance seep into his skin. Vera’s hands, which had been massaging the oil onto him, started going INTO him, as if he was made of dough. Lance couldn’t help it; he screamed and yelled and cried. Over his own noises, he heard the two aliens calmly talking.

“He seems to be uncomfortable. No pain, as we drugged that away.” Not Vera said.

“I don’t believe humans have this kind of healing method.” Vera replied. “Can you make him stop?”

“Knock him out or muffle?”

Lance felt the answer, more than heard it. He could not stop the device being placed onto his mouth, cheeks, and chin. He screamed some more but the sound was not audible. The hands inside him touched his ribs and Lance started crying.

“Look, more fluid!”

His tears were collected and he gave them lots. Eventually the hands were removed. Lance was patted down by Not Vera, wiping the sweat away. They asked him to not scream or make noise if the muzzle was removed and Lance tiredly nodded in agreement. It was taken off. 

“A warning would have been nice,” Lance hotly remarked.

“Noted.” Lance saw Not Vera write something down.

“Can I please be released? I’m not a big fan of the cuffs. And can I have some clothes?” Lance asked.

Vera considered Lance.

“Not until your last healing session. Your ribs are almost back to normal. As for clothes, we have to be able to see your body.”

“But you can remove the clothes. Even a blanket would be great.”

Vera turned to her fellow alien.

“Grenvala, please go retrieve a blanket.”

The other alien, Gren as Lance would now call her, left to grab the blanket. Vera told Lance she wanted to observe his anatomy and structure, if it was ok with him. She said she would place a screen overtop of him and would be able to see inside him. Lance agreed, mostly out of curiosity. What kinds of technology did these aliens have?

As the machine was put in place, Vera asked Lance for his name. They had been calling him Blue Human due to the outfit he was in when they found him.

“Your Red Human is different. He woke up first, and we did not have restraints on him. He knocked out 5 guards before he was taken down, all while being injured.”

That sounded like Keith.

“You say that humans do not like to be exposed?” Vera inquired just as Gren returned with a blanket. She set it down somewhere before taking her place beside Vera to take notes. Lance explained to the best of his ability why. He explained that for some cases, it was ok, but even then there had to be warnings or the option given to not be naked. He explained briefly that human procreation required nakedness, that this activity was sometimes done for fun. He told them that he personally would like to be covered unless they have to check something, and would like a warning and explanation.

“Perhaps,” Vera thought out loud “we should go cover the Red Human before he awakens.”

“Why’s that?” Lance asked.

“He is naked, as you say, and locked in our bonds, more than you. We can put a blanket on him too, maybe a few?”

Lance tried to get the image of a naked Keith out of his head. Vera helped because she soon was tapping away on a device while the machine over him did it’s work. Lance could see his insides in real time. It both fascinated him and freaked him out simultaneously. Vera asked Lance a lot of questions about human biology and he answered to the best of his ability. He told them he was not good at biology. They didn’t care. The aliens just wanted information, little it may be. After what felt like an hour, they stopped asking him biology questions. Vera told Lance that it was time for healing sessions two, in which Lance would have to go through the weird being-felt thing.

Gren asked why it was weird for Lance to be healed. Lance told her it was not the healing itself, but the feeling of it, how humans are not used to their insides being touched. Lance almost fainted at the thought of it, despite already having gone through it. Gren nodded as if taking in this information and making a mental note.

“There are many things we do not know about you humans. And I am guessing we will not know cultural differences until they come up, unfortunately.”

They asked Lance if he was ready and Lance sighed. He wasn’t sure if he could be ready for this.

“Just… don’t collect my tears. That was weird.” Lance requested.

“Human fluids may have healing properties for us. Anything you excrete, we would like to collect. We already took some of your blood-”

“WHAT?!” Lance exclaimed. They probably took it while he was passed out.

“This angers you?” Vera inquires.

“Yes, because it’s MY blood. It’s… for humans, we like to give people permission for things. Some things are bad to take without permission, others are absolutely horrible. Blood is one of those things.”

Lance watched Gren make note. If they had those fancy tablets that presumably connect to the space internet, then they should be able to access notes other species have made about humans. He pondered this as Vera spread the weird oil on him. Lance started hyperventilating. When did the x-ray device come off? He was suddenly very self conscious of his chest and did NOT like being exposed and felt. The feeling was just NO. Vera, probably noticing his reaction, stopped. She looked down at him with sympathy.

“Is there anything we can do to make this more comfortable for you?” She asked.

“Yeah, um…” Lance cleared his throat, which was starting to dry up. “Is there anything I can squeeze? Or something to keep me grounded?”

Gren offered, much to Lance’s surprise, a stress ball. She also offered her hand.

“Should we move his hands?” Gren asked. “To be sure you can get full access, and that this is the last session?”

Vera agreed. With a few taps on a screen, Lance’s hands were suddenly over his head. Lance focused on breathing instead of the hands on him. In a different scenario, with a certain Red Paladin, this would have been good. No alien with their weirdly advanced medical procedures, and their not-knowing-human-social-rules. Now that he came to think of it, Keith wasn’t that far off from the aliens. He knew the bigger social rules, however smaller ones he missed. He was still learning. Lance stopped thinking of Keith out of fear of his body’s natural response to that; he REALLY did not want to have that discussion with them. Thinking of Keith in this way reminded him that Keith was in a different room. Vera and Gren mentioned Keith was also unconscious. Well, he woke up and had to be sedated for trying to escape. How bad was Keith’s mental state? The two doctor aliens said after this healing session that Lance could possibly go see him. Lance figured Keith would have to go through similar treatment and it would not be fun. For either parties. Keith was definitely more likely to lash out. Lance could probably help calm him down-

Lance yelped as the hands worked their way along his ribs, the sensation ripping him from the thoughts of Keith that had distracted him. He whimpered and showed Gren’s hand very little mercy.

Lance either passed out, or the alien medics gave him a sedative. Either way, Lance woke up again in the same room, in the same position as before, this time consciousness hitting him all at once. Lance tried to sit up but found that a strap had been added to go across his chest. His bare chest. Vera and Gren did have the decency to put a blanket over him. As Lance wiggled a little to test his restraints, he felt his legs were also tied down. He noticed that some machines were removed. Lance sighed.

He was glad for the rescue and that these aliens are trying, but he was not mentally prepared for this. He hoped that his fellow Paladins were looking for him and that they found him soon. The cryopods could heal him better than whatever the Jixalians could do. Coran has a better understanding of human biology than Lance due to him being responsible for their healing. Could these aliens contact the Castle? Did they know what Voltron was? 

Now that Lance was alone and didn’t have any distractions, he could think. They must have some technology to contact the Castle. They could contact the castle and figure out a means to either get them back, or Coran could come heal them and take them once done. The thought of his team made Lance happy and sad simultaneously. He was overcome with an urge to be able to move, to hug himself, but was reminded of the helpless position he was in. He yelled out for Vera and Gren. They had to at least set him free. Give him a bed or something.

Gren entered the room, looking curious.

“Yes Lance?”

Lance gestured with his eyes to the rest of his body.

“What the hell?” He asked.

“We had to be sure after you lost consciousness that you didn’t move in response to Vera touching your insides. Now that you seem to be mostly healed, I could allow you more movement.” She replied calmly. Lance appreciated her honesty. 

“How about you move me to see my… friend,” Lance hesitated. Keith was his friend but they had gotten close right before the mission. Lance couldn’t tell Keith, nevertheless these aliens, his feelings. He had been hushing a crush since he first met Keith at the Garrison.

“We are currently checking on him; that’s where Vera is currently.” Gren avoided the answer.

“Let me see him. What do I have to do? I have told you about humans and our culture. I’ve told you about our biology. Now what do you want me to do in order to see my friend?!” Lance was yelling by the end of his spiel. Gren looked upon him with interest and as if she was mentally taking notes. She wordlessly left the room. Lance stayed quiet for a minute. Just before he was about to yell out again, Gren returned.

“You know this human well, yes?” She asked. 

“Yeah, I’ve known him for a few years.” Lance said. He wondered where this was going.

“So you know how to calm him down?” 

Lance asked what they wanted. According to Gren, Keith was now conscious but was refusing treatment. Vera and Gren were assigned to Lance while two other medics were assigned to Keith. After Keith’s little escape attempt, two different medics had to be assigned. Keith had regained consciousness while Lance was passed out the second time around, somehow was able to injure both medics. Vera had to intervene; she gave Keith a drug that basically tranquilized him. Keith was conscious currently, but was still fighting back. Rather sluggishly. In order to determine all of his injuries, they had to wait until all of the drugs were out of his system. 

Gren presented two new cuffs from her smock pockets. She secured them around Lance’s wrists. She unbuckled him from the many restraints. Giving him a minute to stretch after helping him to a sitting position, Gren fetched a wheelchair. An old fashioned wheelchair.

Gren explained that they want his complacency and the promise of peace. To not be attacked. And, eventually, sample of various human substances. Lance agreed. Whatever they wanted, he would give just to see Keith, to help him. Gren grabbed a patient garment and dressed Lance. She explained that he could move freely but one wrong move and the cuffs would activate. Any bad moves she could also use the cuffs to hurt him as a punishment.

Lance heard Keith before he saw him. His yelling was slower and he sounded tired. As if he had been fighting for hours, which given what Gren has told Lance, he probably had been. Keith was swearing at, presumably, Vera. He was demanding her to tell him what they did to Lance. Lance could hear as Gren knocked on the door.

“IF YOU HARMED HIM IN ANY WAY I SWEAR I WILL SNAP YOUR ENTIRE STAFF’S NECKS!” Keith threatened, the speed of his voice slowed down due to whatever they gave him. The door opened slightly, Vera’s head poking out.

“I brought Lance in hopes that he can calm down the threatening one.”

Vera looked from inside the room, to Lance, to Gren, then back at Lance.

“Great. Can you talk to him?”

Lance nodded enthusiastically. The door opened to let the two in.

Now that Lance was sitting and able to observe the room better, he looked around. The room was exactly like his. Keith’s bed (Lance was being generous calling it that) was close to the back wall. There was a screen above him that had scribbles in a language Lance didn’t understand. He guessed it was notes about Keith. Keith had multiple restraints on him. He was yelling up to the roof; he had a band over his head, one across his shoulder blades, one across his elbows and stomach, one on his hips, one across his thighs, and then his ankles were in restraints. Keith’s head was turned slightly, eyes on the door. He calmed down significantly upon laying eyes on Lance. He stopped struggling against the bonds, his muscles visibly relaxing.

“Laaance?” Keith slurred. Gren pushed Lance so he was closer to Keith.

“Hey Mullet,” Lance softly said. 

Keith's eyes raked Lance’s body, concern washing over the Red Paladin.

“Did they hurt you?!” Keith slurred, a hunt of protectiveness in his voice.

“They healed my injuries from the crash,” Lance truthfully said. “They healed your concussion and dislocated hip. They want to heal your other injuries too but you need to be chill.”

Keith sent a grimace to Gren and Vera.

“How do we know we can trust them?” Keith asked.

Lance pointed out that they could have killed them, left them to possibly die, or not healed them. Keith nodded to the best of his ability. 

“I heard you’ve been… not a great patient.” Lance tried to hide his chuckle. Keith rolled his eyes.

“I wanted to save your ass so that I could say I did. I didn’t know how well you were apparently being treated.”

“Are you ready?” Vera piped up. She had the x-ray machine and a cart with various liquids. “We have to wait until all the drugs are gone but until then I would like to collect samples and give ‘Mullet’ another examination.”

Keith growled when Vera said Lance’s nickname for him.

“Sorry, his name is Keith. Mullet is a nickname for him.” Lance calmly explained.

Vera and Gren typed something into their tablets. Lance requested to be brought next to Keith and Gren filled that request. The chair was set so that Lance could look down at Keith. Lance realized that Keith had not been given a blanket, but they gave him underwear. Lance looked down at Keith; the red paladin seemed to be having a hard time focusing his eyes. Keith kept looking from Lance, to the aliens, to his own body. 

“Keith, if they release some of these restraints, do you promise to not fight?” Lance asked. He looked pointedly at the aliens “Pain and discomfort response does not count as fighting.”

Vera agreed to let Keith be free of some restraints. She removed the elbow-level one, the collarbone, and the head one. His legs and others were deemed important. Lance gave Keith a warning glance when Vera went to take off the head restraint. She hesitated.

“You won’t bite me again?” Vera asked for confirmation.

“You bit her?!” Lance exclaimed. 

“Promise… I’m not fast….” Keith slurred.

When less restrained, Keith wiggled slightly to test this level of freedom. Meanwhile Vera set up the machine that examines the insides of a person. Lance asked Keith if there was anything he could do to help him relax. Keith requested Lance hold his hand and speak to him in Spanish. Whenever Keith was upset or when he was overstimulated, Lance would speak in Spanish and massage his hands. The least amount of contact for someone who was both touch averse and touch starved at the same time.

Whatever drug they gave Keith yo stop pain must have worn off. When Vera touched his ankle, Keith let out a loud whimper of pain, biting back a sob. Lance put a little pressure on his ministrations. Vera rolled his ankle while observing in the x-ray machine. Keith nearly passed out from pain; he focused as much as he could on Lance’s voice. Gren, on the other hand, seemed to be observing the two boys and how they interacted. She asked what purpose massaging Keith’s hand had, why Lance was doing it. Was there a biological connection that made Keith relax?

Lance told her that humans are very reactive to touch. Each human was different in their response to touch. He explained touch aversion and touch starvation. Gren ferociously wrote everything down. Vera moves on to Keith’s other hand. Keith recoiled at the touch, jerking against the restraints. Vera hesitated. 

“The other medicine is out of Keith’s system. Once the tranquilizer is gone, we can start.”  
Vera nodded in confirmation. She finished her examination of Keith. They removed the x-ray, and Gren offered to put a blanket over Keith. He nodded, staring blankly up at the ceiling. His body released some tension when the blanket was placed on him, his muscles relaxing. Keith’s eyes closed but he squeezed Lance’s hand to let him know he was awake. His breathing was heavy.

As Vera left the room without a word as to why, Gren sidled up next to Lance in a chair of her own. She had her tablet ready. 

“I have a few questions,” she stated matter-of-factly. She checked something on her tablet. “Firstly, we took some samples from Keith earlier and found something interesting about his DNA. We were wondering what his species is? Are humans varied in their DNA?”

Lance looked to Keith. He knew the answer but figured it was Keith’s information to tell. They don’t know how these aliens feel about the Galra. 

“I’m not… entirely human…” Keith said slowly. “Don’t freak out over what I am about to say.”  
Gren nodded.

“I’m part Galra. Half human, half Galra.”

Gren did not seem to react to this information negatively. Her eyes sparkled with interest.

“How does that affect things? We know we have had to administer larger doses of medication. You seem to be stronger than Lance-”

“Hey!” Lance exclaimed; Keith smirked.

Gren wrote down on her tablet the new info. Gren informed Keith of what Lance had told them about humans. Most of the info was intended to help them help the Paladins. Keith asked Gren if he could have something to drink. She told him she would get someone to fetch him something. 

“Why can’t you get it?” Keith challenged. His strength was returning, Lance could tell just from his voice. The drug was fading from his system. 

“We aren’t allowed to leave you alone together.” Gren answered. 

“What if you activated the cuffs on Lance’s wrists? That way there is no way he can try to escape or help me escape.”

Gren considered it. She shook her head. 

“Nope. You are being watched, and I am also being watched.”

This alarmed Keith and Lance. 

“Watched? By who?” Lance asked.

Gren scratched her head, eyes not making contact with either boys.

“The other scientists. Again, we have never had humans here before. They want to know about you. Once you two pass out again, which you humans seem to do a lot of, we will be going to meetings to present what we have learned. Or, depending on the Council’s wishes, we may be bringing one of you as, er, examples…”

“We are not just some animal you can parade around.” Keith spat at Gren “Sure, you helped us. But we are not going unless we want to. You can’t make us.”

Gren’s face grew sad. She did not seem to agree with the actions but was implying they would take them anyway.

“Actually, you are in no position to talk.”

She gestured to the cuffs Lance had on.

“You listen here, bitch-” Keith growled.

“Keith!” Lance reprimanded. Keith ignored him.

“You will heal us. Or, honestly, not. At this point, we are fine. You will tell us where our lions are, or you will do everything in your power to contact Allura and Coran of Altea. If you do so, we will not attack. Our friends will not attack.”

Gren’s expression was soft.

“Vera and I are following orders. We cannot go near these lions you speak of. We understand you may be distressed by the circumstances. But you are the first human, and human hybrid, we have encountered. There are some here who think we should keep you for experiments. There are some who think you should be killed. You are valuable to us dead or alive.”

That did not help Keith calm down.

“Can you at least contact our friends to let them know we are okay?”

“That will be up to the Council…”

“Let us speak at this Council. If you truly think we are more than just animals, let us speak there.” Keith said. He was attempting to sit up but due to his restraints was kept horizontal. Gren sighed. Vera reentered then.

“You want to meet the Council?” Vera asked.

“...Yes.” Keith cautiously said.

“Well, you’re in luck. They want me to take one of you to present to them. Along with our information.” Vera reported, way too cheery. Vera’s cheerfulness was fake; her eyes were full of sadness, and her smile was faltering. 

“They would actually like both, but I need reassurance that you will behave.” She looked at Keith. “Specifically, they want me to muzzle you.”

Keith was too enraged at the proposal in general to notice that Vera was now trembling. He started yelling superlatives at her. Hearing the commotion, another alien in similar dress as Gren and Vera entered the room. Gren grabbed Lance’s chair and started moving him away from Keith. The new alien approached Keith with a face mask connected to a chamber. Lance tried to stand up, to go to Keith, but the cuffs on his wrists were activated. They hurt. They clamped down, connecting to the chair. Locking him in place. Keith’s yelling and cursing and threatening was lost; Vera held him down by the shoulders, a few tears escaping from her eyes. The new one placed the mask onto Keith’s face and soon he was knocked out. Lance heard as he was forced out of the room the third alien ordering Vera to bring both of the Paladins. 

Lance turned his attention to Gren.

“What the hell?” He spat at her. Gren was speechless. She brought him down the hall, passed his room. Where was Gren taking him? He asked her this; Gren took a shaky breath.

“Before you are brought before the council, they want you to be clean. Since you have behaved, they are allowing it to do it yourself.”

Lance did have to admit, he was feeling gross. Whether that was the physical sensation of being dirty, or a feeling from everything he had gone through since crashing Blue, he was not sure. 

Gren dropped him off at their version of a bathroom. It was quite similar to an Earth bathroom. It had two machines that Lance discerned were for waste. The most similar to Earth was the bath; it was already drawn when they entered. Various vials were on a cart. Two aliens were there when Gren and Lance entered, situated next to the cart. They were both blue in color. They had the talk boxes on them.

“Lance, this is Heve and Juro. They will be your… assistants.” Gren introduced. She made sure Lance was calm before releasing the cuffs. Lance was mostly just weak from the drugs earlier and the exhaustion brought on by stress. He was not able to support himself. Gren gave Lance a reassuring squeeze before leaving Lance in the clutches of Heve and Juro.

“We have learned that humans like to be asked things.” Heve said. He was the thicker of the two aliens. His voice was slow to make the words. Juro approached Lance, studying him. It made Lance uncomfortable, despite having already been DEEPLY studied by Gren and Vera.

“Would you like us to take off this garment or would you like to do it yourself?” Juro asked. His voice was deeper than Heve’s. Lance opted to take it off himself. Juro watched him struggle with it for a solid minute before asking if Lance would like help. Lance sighed. The stuff on his chest from earlier was making it stick to his skin.

“Can I leave it on? That’s the option I was hoping to get.”

The two Jixalians exchanged looks.

“I believe no,” Juro answered. Lance swore and told Juro to make it quick. The two took the over garments off. Juro went to take the only thing standing between Lance and total discomfort, but Lance smacked his hands. Juro muttered that it could stay on. They both lifted Lance up and into the bath. There was a little lip for his head. Lance allowed himself to relax in the warm water. He wasn’t even bothered when one of the aliens started scraping his torso off. The cuffs on his wrists seemed to be waterproof, unfortunately. They took some of the substances and massaged two into Lance’s hair. The movements on his scalp were so nice, Lance had to fight to stay awake. Luckily the feeling of the rest of him being washed by someone else was enough to distract him to alertness. They dipped Lance’s head into the water. Soon he was deemed clean and taken to a different room. 

He was placed in a cylinder that Lance was too groggy to ask what it did. It’s not like he could fight them anyway. He was supposed to be the complacent one, the nice one. The peaceful one. It’s what Shiro would want. It’s what the rest of the team would advise, if they were here. Since Keith was being difficult, while it was fully warranted, it was also not great for their impression on this new species of alien. They left him to change into new clothes. These ones had underwear to cover that area, the rest of the outfit was a button up short sleeve shirt and tight fitting shorts. Lance changed quickly, and good thing he did. Vera entered the room without warning. She looked relieved to see Lance dressed.

“Oh good. Did Heve and Juro treat you okay? Did they follow instructions?” She asked. The first time Lance had heard genuine concern in her voice.

“Yeah. They, uh, cleaned me and stuff.”

Vera pulled in a gurney-like device. She shut the door after making it in. Lance, sitting on the only furniture in the room, a bench, looked quizzically at her. All her poshness and emotionlessness was gone. She sidled next to him on the bench.

“Listen Lance,” she whispered “I don’t have much time. The council meeting is being prepared so most of the scientists are there. Meaning no one is watching the room right now. I want to help you and Keith as much as I can. Grenvala too. But we are under orders. While you were cleaning up, I had Gren try and contact the Alteans you spoke of. We thought Altea was destroyed. Jixal and Altea were close in regards to their relationship. Gren found the Castle and sent them a message. I will keep you updated.”

Lance was stunned into silence. This was so much information for him to process.

“We might be able to help. Just… you need to get Keith to behave.”

“I can’t exactly control Keith,” Lance retorted, still processing. Vera chuckled.

“He is very protective of you. At least, very vocal.”

There was a silence that hung in the room. Vera’s tablet beeped.

“Oh! We should get going. Unfortunately, there is going to be some… not nice sensations at the meeting. They want you and Keith on.. Display,” Vera spoke as if the wording was acid in her mouth.

Vera helped Lance get strapped to the gurney. He closed his eyes and awaited what was to come.


	2. Close

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for being so patient with this next chapter! It's a bit longer than expected so hopefully that makes up for how long this took haha.

Lance loved presentations. In school and at the Garrison, he was excited for group projects and presentations for a variety of reasons. He liked talking (obvious to anyone who met him, really) and sharing knowledge with other people. Lance could admit that he sometimes used his charm to get a higher mark on some presentations, especially when he bullshitted his work or did not understand the topic as well as he should. He would not admit one part though. One reason he liked them was due to people underestimating how smart he was and proving them wrong. Lance always was proud when he defied expectations, until it hit him that people did not expect much.

He was used to presenting about something. He was not used to being the one presented about.

The gurney contraption he was secured to was versatile. They transported him horizontally, then were able to put him vertical. Lance was at the front of, what could compare to, a university lecture room. A small one. There were maybe 30 or 40 aliens, all in garments that resembled Gren and Vera’s. Their skin colors were across the rainbow spectrum, varying in their shades. Some had body hair similar to mustaches and beards. They varied in size too, which was interesting. They all seemed to be studying Lance as much as he was studying them. Probably more. Lance was in the button up shirt and no one had undone the buttons. He figured they would at some point. The shorts he had on were made out of a soft material, as were the underwear. The shorts were a light blue, the shirt white. He was awake and alert; they decided not to drug him so that he could explain things that Gren and Vera got wrong. He was placed on the right side of a screen. It had a presentation ready in a language Lance could not read, obviously. Vera asked if Lance was comfortable. His focus was more on all the aliens staring at him; he nodded simply. Vera grabbed his attention by telling him not to freak out over Keith. Lance’s stomach dropped.

Gren wheeled in a second gurney device. It was horizontal and Keith was attached. He had two different lines hooked up to him and his gaze was not focused. When they propped him up beside Lance, placing the machines hooked up on the other side of Keith, Lance stretched to try and get a better look. Fully aware of all the eyes on him. Keith’s brows were furrowed, his nose scrunched slightly. He was wearing a similar outfit to Lance. His hair was pulled back in an elastic. In different circumstances Lance might have told Keith it looked good. Lance could see his eyes better this way. But this was not a normal situation and Keith was looking at the audience, not Lance.

“Keith?” Lance whispered.

“Uh huh?” Keith’s head lulled to the side to look at Lance. He squinted his eyes.

Lance realized that Keith was more restrained. Lance was only held down by the wrists and ankles. Keith had the same, plus a bar under his arms and across his chest, then a restraint on each thigh. 

Gren came over to the boys. She looked between them.

“Ok so for the anatomy and biology portion, which one of you is going to be on display?” She asked.

“I thought we decided I would?” Lance said. Due to Keith’s discomfort Lance had volunteered. Given the state they had Keith in, he couldn’t consent. Unless the goal was to lower his inhibitions. He couldn’t properly consent by Earth standards. These aliens likely have different rules with that.

“How much can we show…?” Gren asked. Lance knew what she was really asking.

“I’m fine being, uh, shirtless and without pants but keep that last item on.” He requested. Gren nodded.

“For the first part, we are turning the translators off. Mostly due to you already knowing how you got here and all that.”

Gren explained how it would work. There were multiple portions to the presentation. She would activate the translator for the biological portions. If Lance was up for it, at the end they would like a question period. Lance said if he wasn’t mentally drained then he would be up for it. Gren asked Keith if he would be comfortable answering questions about his genes, but Keith was too out of it to answer. Lance said that Keith will not be answering complex questions.

Vera and Gren started the presentation moments later. From the pictures he could tell what they were talking about. Apparently they were beginning their explanation of humans with social aspects and trends they have discussed with Lance. There was a video of Keith attempting to escape, and a video of Lance comforting Keith during the weird healing session. They replayed Keith’s escape attempt video, this time with volume on. Lance watched as Keith broke through the rope they had tied him down with, then use said rope to trip, lasso, and whip the guards that came in. He was limping and yelping, but it was amongst words.

“Where’s Lance?!” Keith kept yelling. “I know you can understand me. Where is Lance?!”  
Some members of the crowd were looking between the video and the live Keith. Lance interpreted their expressions to be confusing, as if the Keith in front of them was not possibly the Keith in the video. Lance looked over to Keith now. He was fixated on the video, but when Lance’s head moved, Keith’s gaze turned to him.

“You… were trying to find me?”

Keith nodded. Why couldn’t he talk? 

“Are the drugs preventing you from talking?” Lance asked. Keith nodded.

“Gal-a doe-th” Keith managed to say.

“They gave you a Galra dose?” Lance asked and Keith nodded. It probably wouldn’t kill Keith but this was certainly not pleasurable.

Just then, Gren pulled Lance over to the center of the display. She had a stick in her hand-appendage. Gren did not have her communicator on, so Lance could not understand her. He got the gist of what she was explaining. She pointed the stick at the places he had been wounded. Gren moved Lance to the other side, Vera stepping up with Keith. While the eyes were on Keith, Gren put the communicator around Lance’s neck. This was a choker-version so that they could unbutton his shirt and expose his chest if need-be. She turned it on.

“Ok Lance, thank you for being patient and calm. Next we are explaining the biology of humans so…”

She sounded nervous yet grateful. Lance did not need to hear where that sentence was going. He sighed and nodded. Gren let out a big breath. 

“As you can tell from the information we have presented so far, Humans are similar to Alteans.” Vera was saying. “Their interior biology, however, is different. The first Human, Lance, has been graciously-” Lance scoffed at that “-helping us understand. He has also been calm and not as violent as the half-Galra half-Human.”

Gren rolled Lance to be center. He was next to Keith now, and close enough that they could hold hands. Keith sloppily clawed for Lance’s hand; Lance chuckled and reached out.

“If you remember from earlier, physical touch is varied in humans. Some like it a lot, some do not. Humans are very reactive to touch.” Vera continued talking. “Our healing method of going to the source is different than what they are used to. Taking bodily fluids without their permission is also frowned upon.”

Gren approached with the x-ray machine used earlier on Lance and Keith.

“And now, for all to see, Lance here has volunteered to be the one we examine.”

They all made noises that Gren told Lance was appreciative. 

Gren warned him that she would be unbuttoning his shirt. He nodded and gave her the OK. She slid it down over his shoulders and down his arms to provide the most exposure. Lance spared a glance at Keith to remind him why he was doing this. The man in question was staring, dazed and dopey, at Lance’s exposed chest. A heat spread in Lance’s cheeks and stomach.

Vera explained everything Lance had told her about human biology and anatomy. She pointed with the stick onto the x-ray when referring to various organs. Lance focused on breathing and not having an anxiety attack. Keith staring at him was not helping him to calm down. Vera was explaining the different systems. Lance wondered if they would talk about sex. He tried his best to explain such a complex topic in the time he had with them. But there was so much to explain.   
Apparently the nervous, circulatory, skeletal, and respiratory systems were the same in humans as Alteans. Digestive and reproductive systems, however, differed. 

At the end of this section of the presentation the two scientists stopped for questions. There were many that they answered; apparently Lance was better at recalling his biology classes when his and Keith’s health depended on it. Or when he is representing all of humanity. Some questions had to do with how Gren and Vera were able to take their healing methods and apply it to humans. That was something Lance could not answer. Gren checked on Keith, smiling when she saw that the two boys were still holding hands. 

“Thank you,” she said to Lance.

“You aren’t going to use this information to, you know, kill us right?” Lance asked.

“Honestly Lance, we know a lot thanks to you but we still don’t know how to do that. We understand how your systems work. I could make some conclusions and figure it out but that’s not what I’m interested in.” She truthfully replied. She checked on Keith, shining a light into his eyes, feeling his heartbeat. Lance noticed how different she treated them from when they first woke up. She warned Keith before she touched him. He flinched still but it was less than what he would have reacted without the warning. She apologized to Keith. 

“Human!” One of the scientists called, grabbing Lance’s attention.

“Yes?” Lance replied, looking at the one who spoke. This alien was skinnier than Gren and Vera, and had a device similar to glasses on their head..

“Your drugged friend here is part Galra, yes?” 

“Yeah… I don’t know anything about Galra biology.”

“Do you know what species can create hybrids with humans?” 

Lance thought about it.

“I just know that Galra can, and that maybe Alteans can too.” Lance answered.

Someone else motioned to ask a question.

“How do you trust such beings?” This one asked.

Lance wasn’t sure what they meant by that. “Uh, excuse me?”

“Galra are violent creatures that only want bloodshed and to spread their race across. How do you know you can trust such creatures that are half of that violent, feral race?”

Lance thought the question was quite racist and he was familiar with it. While he was Cuban through and through, others at school growing up were biracial and had been victim to such prejudice and hatred.

“Keith’s my… friend,” Lance answered, squeezing Keith’s hand lightly. Keith squeezes back twice. “I knew him before we learned he was part Galra and nothing about him changed.”

“The Galra are a vicious race. How can you be… friends… with someone like that?”

This one pissed Lance off. He was here, displaying himself, practically naked in front of these aliens and all they wanted to question him about was why he liked Keith. 

“They are not all vicious. Keith is not like the terrorist colonizing Galra.”

“He attacked some of the guards,” one person piped up.

“Because we were split apart. Because you had him tied up. He was afraid and wanted to make sure I was okay. You were hurting him without communicating why it was necessary. He was only reacting to the situation and information he had at the time.” Lance explained. He tried to stay calm but their comments and questions were getting to him. “On top of this, you drugged him up and made him do things against his will. Such as presenting him, and me, like animals in front of you. Why are we tied up?”

That left the room silent.

“Recall the differences in cultures from earlier,” Vera said, breaking the silence. “Humans are uncomfortable with being restrained unless told the logical reason why. The way our medical system works is similar to imprisonment for them.”

“I don’t think drugging Keith is helping him trust you,” Lance butt in. Vera gave Lance a look that shut him up immediately. 

“Council, please consider what it is like for the humans.” Vera spoke clearly and concisely “They crashed on our planet. They were separated from their other kin. When they awoke and we were healing them, they were new to us and we were new to them. They were bound and we were causing pain. We did not know their culture and they were exposed. Currently Lance has allowed us to literally look at his interior organs and has explained to us how humans work. He does not know our culture.”

The scientists seemed to consider this. Lance rubbed little circles into Keith’s hand, Keith whimpering. When Lance looked over, Gren was checking out his wrist. It had healed but was likely still sore. 

Someone from a group of scientists in the back of the room asked if, with permission, they could all have turns examining the humans. Vera looked to Lance and Keith.

“If they say it is okay, I see no reason why not.” 

Gren wiped some of the sweat off of Keith. Keith was burning up a bit. His hand was warm, too warm against Lance’s hand and he just realized. 

“Gren, humans are not supposed to be this warm,” Lance said as Vera went on to discuss what was appropriate and the consequences of stepping out of line. 

“What should I do?” Gren asked.

Keith started to shake. Gren looked from Keith to Lance.

“I think you’re giving him too much sedative, or whatever the hell you have.”

Gren immediately unhooked one of the lines, told one of the medics to fetch something. 

“Kralvera!” She barked. Vera snapped her attention to Keith and Gren. 

“Excuse us, this is a medical emergency for humans.”

“Keith?” Keith can you respond please?”

Keith’s eyes were squished shut. He was still breathing, but it was desperate, fast breaths. 

“What should we do?” Gren asked.

“If it’s the drugs we were administering then we need to counteract them. We should bring his temperature down” Vera answered. 

“Already on it.”

“Keep him awake.” Vera ordered. She turned to the audience. “Once this medical emergency is dealt with, we will have the planned group sessions.”

One of the more important looking aliens came forward while everyone evacuated the room. They asked Vera to come with them to discuss something. Vera first refused but the other alien said it was not optional. She told Gren to do what is necessary to help Keith before leaving.

“Keith, please give me something!” Lance asked. His hand was squeezed twice. Lance had an idea.

“Keith squeeze once if you are in pain, twice if not.”

Keith squeezed twice.

“Once if you think it’s the sedative, twice if it is something else.”

Keith squeezed once.

The assistant returned with 3 different containers. Gren hooked up a green substance to Keith. She asked Lance if she could get information from him.

“Ok Keith, you’re doing great. I’m so sorry.”

“M-m-m-m-my f-f-f-fault,” Keith sputtered. “T-t-t-too aggr-ag-ag-a-a-aggressive.”

“No, you were trying to help. You were trying to protect yourself and me.”

“Lance, information?!” Gren asked.

“Put the machine over him.”

Gren warned Keith she was going to take off his shirt. Keith squeezed twice for yes. Gren’s assistant helped her cut off the shirt so they could have access quickly. The x-ray was placed and Gren studied the information.

“The sedative seemed to be shutting down the muscles and the nerves. The antidote we just gave him is starting to work” Gren reported.

Lance watched as the green substance made its way through Keith’s system. Observing this in real time made Lance feel woozy and so after a minute he just focused on Keith. Eventually the shaking stopped. Keith’s breathing became less erratic. Keith’s heart rate returned to normal, according to Gren. She explained that they recorded their heart rates when in various states, as per Lance’s information. Gren placed her “hand” on his forehead. She told Lance it was still hot.

“Lance?” Keith croaked, a yearning. Then, to ask permission, “Gren?”

“Yeah, Mullet?” Lance chuckled little of relief.

“Hold me?” Keith’s eyes opened, tears streaming from his eyes. Gren told the assistant to go make sure no one was outside.

“I think we should take you to a different location before allowing that. Just for privacy.”

“All clear, m'am” the assistant said. Gren promised to allow them out of their bonds once they were somewhere else. Gren looked at Lance with what Lance had learned was complete seriousness. 

“Lance, I trust you. If I let you free, will you help transport Keith?” 

Lance nodded. With a few taps on a tablet, Lance was released. He rubbed his wrists a few times. It felt weird being able to walk. They got Lance to push the pole holding the antidote container while the assistant pushed Keith and Gren led the way. They went down a few halls, into an elevator. No one was in the hallways on the first floor. They encountered a few people, only two who called after the group. Lance was too focused on Keith to pay attention to anything else. Gren called back to those who spoke or questioned them. They finally got to their destination.

The room was huge. There were two beds inside, a shelving unit, and two separate bathrooms. The color scheme was grey on grey on blue. Gren said that the two boys were in the intensive care unit. This was one of the patient living spaces they would transfer them to after. There were cabinets next to the beds with medical equipment inside. This was where they were going to keep Keith and Lance after they were healed. They were fully prepared to keep them as prisoners, as test subjects. As specimen. With decent living quarters, but still. 

Keith was brought to one of the beds. Gren and the assistant, who Lance learned was named Irwin, transferred Keith to the bed. Keith had been complacent and did not fight them. He crossed his arms sloppily over his chest once on the bed. 

“Keith’s muscle control seems to have improved.” Irwin noted. 

Keith looked over to Lance and he knew what Keith was wanting to ask. Lance sidled into bed, bringing Keith into his embrace. Keith was burning but Lance didn’t care. Keith sobbed into Lance’s shoulder. Lance, with his arms wrapped around the boy, brushed his finger through Keith’s hair. He took out the pony tail in order to do so. Keith stopped crying at some point and was snoozing away.

Gren got Irwin to return some of the equipment to the proper room. She then approached the two boys in the bed.

“Is this comforting?” She asked.

“Yes. What you did to Keith was not okay and it is going to take some time for him to trust you. But he trusts me, and I will do what is needed to keep us both safe.” He tried to sound a little threatening, choosing his words carefully. Like Keith would have. Lance wasn’t used to being the threatening one. It felt weird for him, but he was also protecting Keith and that felt good. Comforting him felt good.

Gren went on her tablet for a few minutes.

“I have access to human online interfaces. There is a lot of opposing information, telling me different ways to treat the same symptoms. Apply heat or apply cold? There are writings saying either.”

Lance briefly explained the reasons behind some of this. Gren understood, saying their procedures were similar. The main conflicts being variability within species and not knowing how reliable the source was. She asked Lance if running a bath would help. Lance told her to wait. They had to moderate Keith’s condition. If it improved, he would rather not make him go into a bath. Someone would have to change him either before he got in, or afterwards so that he is not wearing wet clothes.

They stayed in bed for what felt like half an hour. Lance was nodding off to sleep.

Vera burst through the door. She paced around the room, ranting about egos and lack of empathy. Apparently her higher-ups, the ones who gave the order to drug Keith in this way, were not going to apologize or listen. The class and council was requesting that they bring Lance in for them to continue to study, to ask questions. They see Keith’s suffering as a sacrifice they were willing to make, despite nothing being given up on their part. Except for Keith’s trust, which probably was not worth anything to them.

“I swear, sometimes I just want to leave them to their own demise. One day, we are going to treat a species wrong and it will be the end of us! They would rather beat you into submission rather than treat you right and earn trust.” 

Vera regained her composure.

“Sorry.” She stopped pacing. Vera looked to Lance “Lance, I have not heard back from your friends. According to my communicator, the message was not sent due to administrator interference. Meaning some jackass of a higher level than me decided you are staying here.”

Lance’s heart sank.

“I luckily convinced the person higher up than my higher ups that we should let Keith be, now that he is all healed. We are curious about hybrids in general, but that will be on Keith’s terms. Jexla, the person in charge of this whole institute, figures that we will not come across many Human-Galra hybrids. Studying Keith’s anatomy and biology would be best for finding out how the genes bond together. At least she agrees that giving him better treatment is the best way to get him to comply. We did take samples earlier but it is likely we will need more.”

Vera looked at Lance.

“I’m sorry but Jexla did say that learning about humans would be beneficial. I fought for you though. You will not be tied up or anything, as long as you let them explore you a little.”

That did not sound right.

“Explore me how, exactly?” Lance asked, unmoving.

“It won’t be too invasive. I know there is one person really interested in looking at your teeth. Another would like to use the x-ray and have you explain some stuff about humans. Most of the community here wants to know how to heal humans, mostly. And interact. But the biggest issue is the cost and toll to get there, the ethics some folks are knowingly not adhering to.”

Lance looked down at Keith. He wasn’t hot anymore. In fact, he felt cold. 

“As long as they don’t hurt him, I will be fine.”

Lance started removing himself from Keith; a difficult task since they were entangled together. Keith woke up, groggily asking what was going on. It was so adorable, Lance was frozen for a moment. He told Keith that he was going to get examined and he would be back later. For now, Gren was going to run a bath for him to help control his temperature. Keith nodded, too tired to actually register what Lance had said. Lance tried repeating himself; it worked.

“Wait, no!” Keith exclaimed.

“What part are you protesting?” Gren asked.

Keith looked at Gren and Vera as if just noticing them. He shrunk visibly; something Lance had NEVER seen Keith do. He must be traumatized by everything, and Lance didn’t blame him. Keith stared at Gren, grabbing the covers and pulling them up over his nose. 

“Everything. This is all bullshit! We are not animals.” Keith said. Lance recognized this as Keith being defensive and scared. He wanted to fight but was also testing his limits.

“I defeated, like, 5 of your guards while severely injured. How many do you think I can take on healed?” Keith questioned, boasting a little bit.

“Keith, it’s okay-” Lance started.

“No! No Lance, it’s not!” Keith cut him off. Lance turned to Vera and Gren.

“Can I have a few minutes alone with Keith?” he asked. They exchanged looks and then left. Staying outside the door. Once they were gone, Keith pulled the blanket up over his head and curled into a ball. Lance, confused and concerned, approached him. The tiny sounds informed Lance that Keith was crying. He sat behind Keith, asked if it was okay to embrace him. Keith’s head nodded and Lance awkwardly asked how. 

When Keith was drugged up, it was easy to know what to do. Lance just naturally comforted him without any awkwardness… but now? They were both sober.

On the Castle, this was their current relationship. Lance and Keith were friendly towards each other. They had grown closer, in all senses of the word. But Lance didn’t know how Keith felt about him. Lance had found that, although he and Keith had a rivalry, he always admired Keith. He was tough and not afraid to be disliked. Lance couldn’t say the same for himself. When the boys had bonded, all those negative emotions towards Keith did a complete turn around and oozed into the part of him that admired Keith. He was soon dreaming about what Keith would feel like in his arms, how his lips tasted, and other, some naughtier, things. Keith had started opening up to Lance. The biggest win was Keith explaining his touch starvation and aversion. Lance was a very touchy person and told Keith that when he was feeling in need of physicality that he didn’t mind. Lance had even helped Keith during the night terrors. But when he needed to talk about serious matters, at least at the start, it was always awkward. Lance did not know how to help Keith currently but he wasn’t in any sort of panic. He was frustrated and traumatized, Lance knew. He was too. But he could not get a read on what Keith needed. What to do. His brain was drawing a blank.

Seeing Keith in emotional pain like this somehow made the past day or so sink in. Made all the traumas hit him at once. Lance couldn’t help but he started crying. His butt hit the floor beside the bed and just let it out. 

Arms wrapped around him and he realized Keith had joined him on the floor. 

“I’m s-s-s-sorry” Lance sputtered. Keith was still tearful but focused on him. 

“You don’t need to apologize Lance. You sacrificed for me. I should apologize to you, for putting you in that position.” Keith squeezed him tight. “And I bet you will continue to sacrifice and be put on display so that I do not have to go through that.”

Lance nodded, enjoying the way Keith hugged him. He was awkward but Keith was a cute awkward. 

“I am not good at, you know, people things…” Keith places his hand on Lance’s cheek, gently guiding his face to look at Keith’s. He rubbed his thumb along Lance’s jawline, leaving chills in the wake. Keith did not like eye contact unless he was threatening someone, yet here he was, silently asking Lance for it. “But I want you to know that… you are so strong and selfless. I couldn’t imagine having Voltron without you. And, while this is a shitty situation, there is no one who could help me through it, or that I would want to be with, than you.”

Tears welled in his eyes for a different reason now.

“You mean that?” Lance asked.

“Of course I do. That’s why I told you.” Keith bluntly said.

“Sorry,” Lance chuckled lightly. “I know I just… did not expect this from you.”

Keith removed his arms from him and Lance, against his own control, whimpered softly. He looked up at Keith, eyes wide, unsure of what Keith was thinking. Keith looked at Lance’s mouth then made eye contact. He was trying not to smile. Lance cleared his throat.

The door beeped and Vera reentered, drawing their attention to her and breaking the moment. Her eyes indicated that she expected them on the bed. Vera asked if they fell or were hurt. Keith immediately tensed. As if to show he was not hurt and was going to not cause trouble, he stood up, walked over to the other side of the bed and sat with his legs curled into his chest. Lance still felt weird seeing Keith shrinking like this. 

“We were just… uh… comforting one another.” Lance explained.

“Was the floor the best spot?”

“In the moment. It’s hard to explain,” Lance was blushing. “Is it time to go?”

Vera nodded. “Follow me.”

Lance offered his hand to Keith, who took it and squeezed. Lance squeezed back.

“Lejos pero más cerca que nunca” Lance softly said. Keith smiled a little, indicating he had no clue what Lance said. The way he said it though was reassuring and comforting. Lance hoped Keith picked up on the loving tone as well.

Lance was whisked away to the new room. Vera explained that he would not be restrained this time. The other scientists wanted to learn more about the mechanical aspect of human bodies, the way they moved. Lance found it odd but did not object. Freedom was freedom. This would probably be the least invasive thing these aliens would be doing to him. He was still in his button up shirt and shorts. Gren had stayed with Keith to keep him company and to watch him. This had two different reasons. Apparently the Jixalians think he might try to escape again. Lance knew he wouldn’t. Keith was thinking clearly now. No drugs or substances are being forced into him. The other reason Gren was staying with Keith was because of a lab report and guide Gren and Vera were now in charge of creating. Keith would be helping Gren with this, as a way to contribute without having to do anything physical.

They entered from the front of the room, which meant everyone was aware when he entered. All the eyes were on him. Vera gestured for him to sit up on top of a table that was at the front of the room. Lance did so, crossing his legs and leaning back on his hands with his arms straight. It was weird; he felt a surge of energy rush through him and stay, without an outlet to dispel the energy. 

Everyone quieted down once Vera set up the screen behind him. She stood to the right of Lance.

“Hello everyone. This is Lance from Earth. As you know, we have been studying him and his friend to try and learn about their species in hopes for future contact. We have learned a lot from our time and still have much to learn.” Her tone started off formal but then it dropped to be more serious; it reminded him of his mother. “Lance has agreed to show himself in ways humans are not typically comfortable doing. I hope you all understand this. From what I have gathered, in order for Lance to be as comfortable as possible, we have set some ground rules.”

Lance was impressed, to say the least. Vera had seemed to be on a steep learning curve. Compared from when they first interacted. Lance had to recognize that. She was now trying to get the top scientists and medical folks to the same level. It gave Lance hope for himself and for Keith. These people may not know how to fix their lions but maybe they will call the Castle. Set them free once they get enough information.

Vera went over the rules. No touching Lance if he says not to. The communicator Lance had on was translating his words to them as well as their words to him. If Lance indicated pain then they must stop immediately. If they would like to test something, they have to explain to Lance what it is and why. Lance was allowed to not answer questions if he felt uncomfortable or that his knowledge base was too little. They had the x-ray device on hand in case there were any questions from earlier. This time, Lance would be in control. That made him feel significantly better. Lance couldn’t explain it, but something inside him melted away and he relaxed a bit. Not the energy; that was still there. But he stopped looking for the exits or trying to figure out defensive positions.

Vera called the first group up. There were about 25 alien scientists present, as there were going to be two sessions like this. They may be scientists and medical professionals but they also had patients to help. This first group of four approached.

“On our off time, Jexla found human science and medical books. We will not have to ask this human for details he does not know,” one of the aliens said to Vera. She faked being surprised, since she was already aware. That’s what Keith and Gren were working on. 

“Good to know!” She turned partially towards Lance. “Do you have any questions for him?”

“Hygiene,” the tallest one of the group said, their voice non gendered. “How often do humans clean.”

Lance answered their questions no matter how basic. In the first group, one of them wanted to test out how his body moved. They were interested in flexibility. Lance nervously glanced at Vera. In truth, he was uncomfortable with anyone else touching him. Vera piped up.

“How about you tell me what you want to see and I can maneuver Lance?”

She looked at Lance for indication that he was good with the idea and Lance nodded. The alien sighed but agreed. They instructed Lance to lie down. Keeping his leg straight, they brought it as close to his chest as possible. Lance explained he was more flexible than a majority of humans. Just naturally. He liked stretching and being flexible. It had somewhat of a sexual purpose but he was not going to tell these folks. The aliens asked to display his range of arm movement. He did so. Lance showed off his back flexibility. The group was seemingly satisfied with this. Vera had the x-ray device set up so they could watch his muscles and insides. They took notes while watching Lance. When they were satisfied the next group came. 

One alien asked Lance to explain reproduction, since Keith was a hybrid. Lance blushed and stuttered but luckily Vera stepped in, saying there is likely a resource on that for them to read. The alien asked if Lance could provide a sample of his “reproductive substance”. Lance asked Vera to add no reproductive questions to the rules. She did. A different alien asked for Lance to explain his digestive system again, with the x-ray if he was comfortable. Lance asked if they wanted a demonstration and they were too eager and delighted. Vera got someone to fetch some food for him. Oddly enough, now that Lance had more control of himself he was more comfortable. There was no threat of being drugged up unless he was injured. These beings were interested in humans in case they come in contact with them in the future. They wanted to learn, it was just social differences that separated them and made interactions difficult. 

According to what Vera’s coworker had read about human food and digestive systems, Lance could eat the food goo they had. It was not as squishy as the Castle’s; Lance could hold it without any issue and it was thicker. Lance did feel weird about these people watching the food go through him, but he ignored the feeling. They were learning. They wanted to learn. They were not focused on the right thing, but that was okay. There were more wrong subjects they could be questioning him about. They had been wanting to learn but that was too personal for Lance. Too awkward.

Vera removed the device after the food stayed in Lance’s stomach. Lance did not watch because it would send him into an existential crisis. Vera asked how he was doing and Lance faked total serenity. The next group came up. They were wondering about human behavior. They asked why humans like being covered and why being touched was a varied subject. Lance explained the best he could. He explained about trauma, finding himself repeating what he had told Gren or Vera earlier in his capture. He was okay with it. It might take these aliens a few repeats before they understand. He especially wanted to get this message through and make them understand since he and Keith were at their mercy. They had to understand that in order to treat them well and keep them mentally healthy, they had to respect their comfort zones, especially when it came to touching them. He did not mention Keith. He explained that he knew people on various areas of the spectrum, giving a detailed and empathetic explanation of what each example was like.

Another alien in this group asked to feel Lance’s bones. Lance felt himself pale and his forehead became damp. Lance asked how exactly, his mind flashing back to Vera touching his insides. This alien wanted to know how the insides were situated, and where things started and stopped. Vera asked if Lance was okay with that, suggesting that they can use the x-ray machine to provide a visual. Lance asked if the touching part was necessary, and the alien butt in before Vera could intervene, saying that he wanted to actually feel it. So that he would know how deep things were. Lance took a deep breath to refocus himself before telling Vera it was okay. Another alien piped up, asking to also feel this. Lance agreed but that was his limit. These two aliens were both, according to Vera, a part of her Other Species team. One had been a part of Keith’s medical team before he tried to escape.

Lance sprawled across the table. He guided them through the various portions of the body. Starting at the head, then they felt his neck. His shoulder blades, his arms, each finger. Lance reflexively swatted at them when they felt his ribs and explained his reaction. He told them, his voice tiny, not to feel his pelvis and genital region. They respected his wishes, moving onto his thighs. Lance was surprised with how well he was reacting. He kept reminding himself that this was a medical examination, nothing more. They felt his feet - which had been bare this whole time - and individual toes. 

They asked to see the inside of him again, asking if they could feel him while looking through it. Lance asked what purpose it served. He suspected it was to test his limits. But they gave him a reasonable answer; they wanted to know the impact altering the outside had on the inside. They poked his sides, between the pelvis and the ribcage. Lance squealed at the contact, causing the room to shift from curiosity to concern. Lance laughed and explained that he was a little ticklish and sensitive, he was not injured. The audience went back to interested after he explained. The two aliens touching him were apparently satisfied and sat down while the rest of their group left to tend to patients.

By the fifth group, Lance found that he felt like his eyelids were starting to get heavy. He was less focused and started losing track of his train of thought. There were two more groups left though, and he needed to stay alert and answer the questions. The ones Vera couldn’t answer at least. 

Between groups, Vera checked in on Lance. He yawned and stretched a little, telling her he was fine and brushing off her concern. Vera asked Lance what was wrong and he brushed her off. She halted the other group from approaching. She turned and looked him in the eyes.

“Is this too much? I may not know you or humans well, but I can tell something has changed.”

Lance sighed.

“Can I, uh, have a break?” Lance felt guilty of being tired. Of denying some of these aliens information, of their queries answered.

“Of course! What form would this break be in?”

“Probably a nap” Lance said through a yawn. Someone asked what the noises coming from Lance’s mouth meant, and Vera took this opportunity to announce Lance would be taking a break. More questions could come later.

Vera escorted Lance back to his designated living space. Lance found himself being pulled along and guided by Vera due to how much his body was wanting him to sleep. His eyes were fluttering and his footing was a little off. Vera softly pulled him along, making sure he did not hit anyone. He barely made it to his room. 

Keith and Gren were there, still. Things were calm between them, civil. Keith immediately came to Lance’s aid, guiding him to one of the beds. Lance’s heart fluttered from the contact. It hadn’t done that before. Lance plopped down on one of the beds, Keith crawling in with him. Even in his exhausted state, Lance recognized that Keith had never done something like this. Lance always spooned Keith, Lance was always the one to crawl into Keith’s bed. And his heart was pounding, pulling him off of the brink. He was still tired, but he was able to force himself awake for Keith. He rolled over to meet Keith’s gaze.

“Hey,” he softly said, ending with a yawn.

“Hey,” Keith said back with more softness than Lance thought was possible for Keith.

“Are you okay?” Lance asked. “I mean,” he yawned, “Gren didn’t ask too much of you?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Are you? After being, er, um…” Keith trailed off.

“Examined?” Lance offered.

“...yeah,” Keith averted his eyes. Apparently the hem of Keith’s shirt was interesting. Lance realized his shirt was still open, as Vera had not closed it and he was too tired to.

“I’m okay. Nothing that other folks haven’t seen before,” Lance tried to brush off his feelings. He did not want Keith to feel guilty for not exposing himself. Keith's cheeks and the tops of his ears turned a little red at that statement. He was pointedly not looking at Lance’s exposed chest Keith, blushing?

We are, um-” Gren piped up, but Vera pulled her out of the room. The door shut and there was a click that Lance attributed to mean the door was locked. At least they had bathrooms. That was a good thing. Lance had briefly explained about the human waste removal systems, so they likely had made sure to include them with the baths.

“Did they, um, do anything that would make me want to kill them?” Keith said with a small smirk. Lance knew he was half joking half serious.

“No. Vera has actually been quite good. Her learning curve is astounding. Everyone else’s is a bit… off.”

Keith looked up in alarm, meeting Lance’s eyes with his violet ones. Lance got lost for a moment. Keith did that to him sometimes. Caught Lance off guard with those deep purple pearls and took his breath away without knowing it. But Lance trekked on, telling Keith about them feeding Lance and asking to watch him digest it. Keith’s concern only increased.

“What if they put something in the food? Maybe that is why you are falling asleep. They put a sedative in it.”

“Keith, it’s been a rough maybe day. I don’t know how much time has passed. But even if they did put something in the food, I need sleep. As long as no-” he started to yawn again, the slumber trying to reel him back in, “-one does anything in my sleep. I’ll be okay.”

Keith was hesitant but nodded. He began crawling out of the bed; Lance reached out a weak hand to him.

“Where are you going Mullet?” Lance asked sadly. 

“To let you sleep,” Keith stayed. 

“You don’t want to stay with me?” Lance asked, pouting.

“You WANT me to stay with you?”

“Unless that makes you uncomfortable.” Lance said.

“It’s just… I’ve never done that… anything you wanted me to do in particular?”

Keith crawled back in with Lance, visually trying to figure out how to situate them. Keith sat on the bed while Lance rolled onto his back, his head lulling to the side to look at The Red Paladin. Keith gestured to Lance’s shirt.

“Do you want to do that up?”

Lance attempted to but he couldn’t coordinate his fingers. He gave a look to Keith, a plea, and Keith nodded. He gingerly closed up Lance’s shirt. 

Keith laid next to Lance; Lance rolled over to resume the position they were in before. He pulled Keith close, snuggling his head into Keith’s collarbone. He fell asleep feeling safe and with Keith’s scent intoxicating him into his slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lejos pero más cerca que nunca means, according to Google Translate, "far apart but closer than ever"


End file.
